Living, working and traveling sustainably have become big topics of conversation it seems everywhere. This week on June 5, the United Nations Environment Program celebrates World Environment Day 2015 (WED) and focuses this year on how we live and how it impacts the planet.
This year’s theme is “Seven Billion Dreams. One Planet. Consume with Care” focusing on the main things people consume and waste: water, food, energy, and all natural resources like forests and animal products.
The theme is a powerful one, because it is an opportunity for everyone to evaluate our consumer habits: how we shop, eat, live and travel. The United Nations urges that every person is responsible in his or her own way to care for the Earth. We can combine “individual actions into a collective power that generates an exponential positive impact on the planet,” states the UN.
“The well-being of humanity, the environment, and the functioning of the economy, ultimately depend upon the responsible management of the planet’s natural resources,” states the UN on the WED website. “By 2050, if current consumption and production patterns remain the same and with a rising population expected to reach 9.6 billion, we will need three planets to sustain our way of life.”
“Consuming with care means living within planetary boundaries to ensure a healthy future where our dreams can be realized,” says the UN. “Living sustainably is about doing more and better with less. It is about knowing that rising rates of natural resource use and the environmental impacts that occur are not a necessary by-product of economic growth.”
A travel company that really cares about sustainable tourism and employs sustainable travel practices is Horizontes Nature Tours in Costa Rica. Eco-tourism in Costa Rica is a big deal all over the country, and Horizontes Nature Tours does their best to design low-impact travel programs that positively impact the communities they visit. They promote Costa Rica’s national parks and natural areas and maintain small travel groups to minimize impact in natural areas.
Horizontes Nature Tours has been honored with the highest level of certification in the Sustainable Tourism Program of the Costa Rican Tourism Board. In addition, they participate in the Rainforest Alliance Verified Program and the Blue Flag Ecological Program.
Design your Costa Rica vacation with Horizontes Nature Tours today, and care for our planet with how you travel.
Article by Shannon Farley
